When a family-owned company, that's been in business for nearly 120 years, that counts the Wright Brothers as a client, that still makes their original product by hand, needs a video that showcases their brand and everything they stand for… well, you know the final product has to be exceptional. Gerstner isn’t just any client and the team was beyond excited to show that ruef craftsmanship was up to the task of showing off Gerstner craftsmanship.
our process
ruef knew that this was going to be a big yet intimate story to tell. The ruef team did their own research and met with Gerstner to get a thorough understanding of both the rich history and current market needs of the business. The deeper the team dug, the more excited they got about the project. Knowing that getting beautiful shots would be the easy part, ruef put extra time into writing a script that would guide the whole project and result in a video that was simple, beautiful, and epic.
Ninety percent of the video was shot in the Gerstner production facility – an historic building along the river in downtown Dayton. There can always be challenges with filming on location while a client’s daily operations are actively continuing throughout the shoot. Thankfully, it’s a challenge that the ruef team has tackled so many times that taking care to stay safe and not disrupt client operations is second nature.
Editing the video was a careful and deliberate process. To get a film feel with an air of gravitas and timelessness, great care went into color grading and choosing the voiceover talent. Choosing the very best shots was no easy task when everything captured looked amazing. Sometimes the hardest job is making the decision to leave a beautiful shot on the cutting room floor.
results
Gerstner’s facilities and products were the perfect showcase for the capabilities of ruef’s film team. The final cut of the video had exactly the pace, warmth, and authenticity that the client sought, and it immediately garnered praise from the employees and management of Gerstner. In the ruef offices it is considered a great example of the team’s technical and artistic skills and is often one of the first pieces shared with other potential clients.
"We love it! I've been reviewing it with different team members and they're eager to start using it!"
- Paul, H. Gerstner & Sons